- Title: Battle to topple Lincoln's Emancipation Memorial rages as tensions rise in DC
- Date: 27th June 2020
- Summary: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (JUNE 26, 2020) (REUTERS) WIDE SHOT OF PEOPLE GATHERED AROUND LINCOLN STATUE (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE SPEAKER IN COLONIAL DRESS, SAYING: "You are ashamed of your ancestors. You have no reason to be ashamed. But let's not negate what happened. You need physical evidence that proves what happened so we don't have to go back to it again. That is my story." PAN OF DEMONSTRATORS (SOUNDBITE) (English) MAN DRESSED AS ABOLITIONIST FREDERICK DOUGLAS, SAYING: "And so it is now time for the young people to stand up. It is your time." MAN LEADING DEMONSTRATORS IN CHANTS CALLING FOR JUSTICE AND CITING NAMES OF THOSE KILLED BY POLICE OFFICERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN, SAYING: "I'm not going to stand here, and let people divide between older and younger, we are not doing that."
- Embargoed: 11th July 2020 03:40
- Keywords: Abraham Lincoln Black Lives Matter Emancipation Memorial Emancipation Proclamation George Floyd Protesters
- Location: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES / INTERNET
- City: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES / INTERNET
- Country: USA
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Civil Unrest
- Reuters ID: LVA001CK5AIBR
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: ***NOTE TO EDITORS: EDIT ADDS TWEETS BY US PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP***
***NOTE TO EDITORS: EDIT CONTAINS USE PROFANE LANGUAGE IN SHOT 9, 10, 12 & 16***
Hundreds of Protesters in Washington D.C's Lincoln Park, on Friday (June 26) gathered, for the second time this week, around a bronze memorial statue of Abraham Lincoln that celebrates the Emancipation Proclamation and depicts the president standing over a kneeling African American man who is newly freed from slavery, calling for it to be toppled.
Since the protesters tried to bring the Emancipation Memorial down on Tuesday, Federal and D.C. law enforcement erected barriers around the Memorial in advance of the demonstrations.
Arguments between protesters who wanted to bring down the monument and counter-protesters escalated to a point where Jack Posobiec, a known American alt-right political activist, had to be escorted to safety by police as scuffles broke out.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday canceled a planned weekend visit to his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey, and said he was staying in Washington "to make sure LAW & ORDER is enforced."
Trump has pledged to take a hard line on anyone destroying or vandalizing historical U.S. monuments and has threatened to use force on some protesters, as activism against racial injustice sweeps the country.
The 2003 Veterans Memorial Preservation Act provides for prison terms of up to 10 years for destroying or attempting to destroy monuments commemorating those who served in the U.S. armed forces. Trump's order also threatens to withhold federal support to state and local law enforcement agencies that fail to protect monuments.
The controversial statue, which is replicated in Boston, is one of many other statues and monuments targeted by crowds in recent weeks that pay homage to the rebel Confederacy from the nation's Civil War and are seen as tributes to those who perpetuated slavery.
The calls for their removal, along with massive Black Lives Matter protests earlier this month and local governments reforming police forces, were sparked by the May 25 death of George Floyd, a Black man killed in police custody.
(Production: Greg Savoy, Deborah Lutterbeck & Njuwa Maina) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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